This will not be an easy or quick fix. It will take a long term effort. But the most important thing is to begin.

At this point, you might be saying, “Blane I agree this is a problem and that something needs to be done about it. But why Round Rock? Isn’t this going to cost us something?”

Round Rock is in a unique and exciting position: We are part of one of the fastest growing metro areas in the nation and set to double in population in the coming decades. We are pragmatic and progressive. We want to lead. We feel the need to lead. There is increasing bi-partisan agreement on the issue of climate change. The truth is, it should be a non-partisan issue.

But what about that objection, that it might cost us something?

Until we take the first step, we do not know what it will cost. We don’t even know what our carbon footprint is. We need to find that out, and that exercise will cost us next to nothing. But until we take the first step, it is impossible to say what the cost will be.

We are an economically strong, healthy city. Around 2.7% unemployment. A low tax rate. We have a strong and growing net position. If there ever was a time to do something bold, something consequential, something that will benefit future generations, it is now.

Doing nothing brings its own cost. If we do nothing, the cost of climate change to the American economy will be measured in the hundreds of billions of dollars. The cost to human health will be measured in respiratory diseases, insect borne diseases, and deaths due to increasingly extreme and frequent natural disasters. These are only a few examples. We can’t afford to keep our head in the sand and do nothing.

Nothing worth doing is guaranteed to be easy. But the benefits to our economy, our quality of life, and our children’s and grandchildren’s future will far outweigh the effort.